Comments (3)

Hi Thomas, it’s Anne here. I am actually closing more than 90% of my short sales, and by closing, I mean I buy it and re-sell it the next day (two back-to-back closings–you are familiar with the model). Anyway, I don’t mind if you scare investors away from the short sale niche, because there are many out there who don’t really know how to do the short sale business correctly–and, even worse, don’t seem to CARE about getting proper training to do it legally. We hear about these folks all the time from our escrow agents, and from real estate agents who are too scared to bring us short sale properties because of the “one bad apple” who is giving all short sale investors a bad name. We want to base our business on referrals from agents who know where the deals are, but once a realtor has heard about a deal that went south because of an a) ignorant or b) unscrupulous investor, they become very cautious, almost paranoid. Some agents are so afraid of investors that they would rather let the house go to foreclosure than let an investor buy it. So, let’s PLEASE ask all the investors who don’t know what they are doing to GO BIG (Get Educated and Honest) or GO HOME. Thank you, Thomas, and have a nice day!

How did falling market prices hurt your short sale? When I have had short sales on my desk and the market has fallen, I just lower my offer to the bank. Of course, timing is key; enough time needs to have elapsed since the last BPO that the bank will agree to do another one. But, even if you have cash, you shouldn’t pay more than the property is worth. . .